Water, Earth, Fire, Air
by The General Electric
Summary: Spirits can be benign, they can be violent and sometimes they can be outright sadistic. But all spirits share two things in common.They are all very long lived. And they are all very patient. Koh the Face Stealer, is especially devious.
1. BOOK ONE ENLIGHTENMENT: Losing Face

**Earth, Water, Fire and Air**  
_An Avatar the Last Airbender Fanfiction_  
_Written By The General Electric._

_Avatar Belongs to Nickelodeon. Good on 'Em._

* * *

_Spirits can be benign, they can be violent and sometimes they can be outright sadistic. But all spirits share two things in common._

_They are all very long lived. And they are all very patient._

_Koh the Face Stealer, is especially devious._

_Years after his defeat of The Fire Lord, Aang wakes up to find a world full of strangers wearing familiar faces and living in a world that is very removed from what he remembers. Sometimes the Villains aren't the people you expect them to be and Yet the Heroes can be exactly who you want them to be._

* * *

**Chapter One -** **Losing Face**

Earth; Steadfast and unmoving. With a million stories to tell and a million more things to hide, earth is ever present, even when you can't see it. It gives support and keeps us upright. But take it for granted and you will slip.

Fire; Wild and furious, yet warm and soothing. It destroys while maintaining life in an ever delicate scale of balance. Disrespect it and it will burn. Show it your reverence and it will sustain and nourish.

Water; furious and fierce. Where Fire sustains life Water is life, all life. All respect water, but they can forget that water can be more unforgiving than even Fire, claiming its victims forever.

Air; Invisible and benign. Without it the world would shrivel and die and yet the invisible force can be just as punishing as its counterparts, yet it remains the only force that offers its victims fair warning.

These four elements come together within the Avatar, a man with a spirit's existence.

While there are exceptional humans who can train their bodies to bend and command one of the four elements under their will, only the Avatar has the ability to bend all four.

The Avatar is a Paragon of humanity and an emissary of the Spirit World and their concerns, able to understand the affronts that the logical and disinterested spirits may have, while at the same time able to take into consideration that human's are in fact flawed. And that sometimes the things that makes humanity human can colour and skew their judgement.

But sometimes, the Avatar gives into those same things and forgets his duties. Sometimes the Avatar ignores the concerns of the Spirit World and its inhabitants.

And sometimes a Spirit will hold a grudge.

Koh the Face Stealer was one such Spirit. Old now, so old. As old as the ocean and as old as time, Koh fed off of emotion, sweet, scrumptious emotion. And over the eons he had become one of the few Spirits to understand it, to know what it was to love and to care. One of the few spirits who had learned how to hate, not just disdain, but truly, and fiercely_hate._

And at the end of that lesson Koh could say one thing definitively and absolutely. He _hated _the Avatar.

Well, not all of them. At the beginning of the cycle humanity had been reverent and deferred to the knowledge and wisdom of the World beyond their own. They had known their place and the Avatar was where he should be; underfoot and enslaved.

But as time wore on, humanity forgot where they belonged, the _Avatar_ grew independent, forming ideas and opinions of their own. Koh's rage the day he stormed Avatar Goku was fearsome, the battle tearing a great scar into the earth itself and yet, for all his power and for all his might, Koh had been struck down that day with a furious vengeance.

"_I know who you are, Koh, devourer of emotions." Goku had intoned down at Koh's battered form, stone faced."I refuse to show you a hint of emotion, I refuse to give you power over me. Because without that, you are nothing."_

Koh had retreated back to his domain, humiliated and furious. And his hate had begun to simmer. Thoughts of torture and retribution stormed through his mind and, for a time, Koh embraced the fantasy. But Goku was merely human, he would eventually die and newer, more inexperienced, Avatar's would be born; the ones who would be the targets of his revenge.

After all, why risk fighting a fully trained Avatar with the power to kill him when he could just squash an inexperienced one?

Of course, killing one Avatar after the over would be cathartic, but it wouldn't quite slate the thirst like he needed. What he needed was a plan not just to kill the Avatar, but to end the cycle completely.

Years went into his research. Stories of the elements and the balance from all across the Spirit World. Observations into each and ever Avatar for a millennia and more, to learn how they functioned, how they ticked and how the balance was reset with the death of the current Avatar of the time.

He trod every inch of the world over the ages. Listening to the planet, watching how it thrived, feeling how it breathed. The Face Stealer could safely say that not only was he the Spirit who understood the human emotional spectrum best, but he was also, now the most learned spirit in existence.

The Librarian, Wan Shi Tong, would probably argue that statement beak and talon. But where the Owl had locked himself away and read about things, Koh had experienced, he had lived the people and places Wan Shi Tong read about. He had seen it.

And it was all for the greatest undertaking conducted since the Spirits came together to raise the dinky little planet in the first place.

After more than 1500 years Koh had come to a final hypothesis, a conclusion to his centuries of patience. But he would have to wait for just a little longer yet, just a little longer for the next Avatar Cycle to begin.

There were many steps to his plan, steps that would take still an eternity to execute. But at the end of the day it would be worth it, and his thirst for revenge slated.

During his years travelling, learning and planning, Koh had never stopped devouring, never stopped studying and breaking down emotion and how it ran the human mind. The most fatalistic of all was love.

Giving yourself so completely and absolutely to another, to do anything for them or to keep them safe from the horror's of the world. Love drove reasonable men suicidal, it was a crutch that an Avatar couldn't risk. And yet, a young, brash Avatar by the name of Kuruk had done just that.

And that gave Koh everything he needed.

The night that Kuruk offered his eternal love to her, the night they agreed to be each others forever, Koh stole into her bedchamber in the night and, as she looked upon his true visage in terror, he struck. Her face, her soul, were his.

_And the Spirit would know of pure sorrow and loss. The Spirit will turn his heart to revenge and hatred._

For all his efforts, Kuruk never managed to kill Koh, in fact compared to Goku, the man had been a fly to his predecessor's Dragon if Koh was truly honest.

But, eventually, Kuruk died, as all humans did, and the cycle continued into stone and earth. Kyoshi. There was really not much he had to do here, not in comparison to what had passed and what was to come.

He had driven Chin the Conqueror, an already bloodthirsty man, onto the path of dominating even the most powerful being on the planet. "The Avatar is strong, but she is only human." He had whispered to Chin in his sleep. "One on one she may slaughter you. But with an army at your back? Avatar or not she is only one _woman_." Now Koh didn't really care about the gender of humans, he had seen enough to know that men and woman could achieve just as much as each other as well as fail just as well. But Chin...

The next morning he had corraled his troops and they had marched towards Kyoshi's home in the Heart of Earth, as it was known at the time, and he had demanded she, and her pretend soldiers, surrender to him and be spared.

Of course Kyoshi had tried to be peaceable, but Koh's words had pushed Chin's bloodlust to extreme's.

_'And the Spirit shall tear and move the Earth, blood soaking into the Land's roots, the Land's Heart.'_

That had definitely been the easy part. Now came the tricky one. Maybe not the trickiest, that would come near the end. But for this step, the 3rd of 6, he would need to ruin the Balance. An action that would not go over well with the rest of the spirit world should his actions become a matter of public record.

If he pulled this off, it truly would be the crowning glory of the entire plan. Ravage the Balance, send it careening into chaos most pure, and to do it without suspicion ever darkening his shadow.

The risk and anticipation stirred at feelings he had forgotten he had.

_'The Spirit shall watch, as his closet confidant marches to the doors of war. He will stop it, the first betrayal. But a second will come. The Balance will break with the Spirit's death, Fire's honour marred almost irreparably and all will know only Fire.'_

It had taken years for his whispers to truly hammer into Sozin, years for what little conscience and morality the Fire Lord had to break under thoughts of power and prestige the like of which no Fire Lord, Water Cheif, Earth King or Air Priest had known.

Of course Roku had found out, he was always going to find out as traveled as he was. And he had, quite literally, _stormed _into Sozin's throne room, righteous fury burning within golden eyes.

Sozin had ceased his conquest and Koh's whispers stopped for a time.

But then came that night, the eruption of the small Volcano which Roku had built his home and founded a village upon. He battled it, riding upon his dragon, Fang, but things looked dire, the volcanic gases and ash overpowering them. As Mother Nature was want to do.

But when things seemed their bleakest, the Fire Lord, Sozin, arrived upon his own dragon to help his old friend battle Nature itself and, together they saved all the villager's and the Avatar's own wife and family, having held back the volcano just long enough.

It seemed like everyone would escape that night.

But, Koh had a plan and, for that plan to work, Roku needed to die.

So, staging an accident, a vent of poisonous gas streaming a direct hit on Roku, Koh watched as the old Avatar pleaded, begged his old friend to save him. Koh could see that Sozin would do it, see in his eyes that the Fire Lord would save his friend for the childhood they shared, and Koh couldn't have that.

_'Conquest Sozin. With Roku gone, who is there to stop your conquest?'_

In that instant, as Koh's whispers carried through even the explosive force of the mountain, Koh watched Sozin's eyes change. Watched the man abandon his friend. Watched his plan come into fruition with the second betrayal.

_'The Avatar is dead, but the cycle continues.' _Koh had whispered the next day. _'Once you can, you must mount an attack on the Nomads. The Air Temples need to be purged.'_

And, after 12 years of watching Sozin slowly build his power and ever so delicately extend his colonies, The Fire Nation was ready for war.

Of course, Koh didn't want the Avatar dead, not just yet, it would ruin all his plans after all. So he traveled ahead of the Fire Nation, heading to the Southern Air Temple and he whispered honeyed words to the elders there. _'There is stirrings of war... the Avatar must be trained. No matter 4 years of his life against the entire world?'_

The elders had listened with fear and they had told the boy. '_You are the Avatar. You will be sent away to the Western Air Temple to finished your Airbending training and from there they will direct you to the North Pole to learn Waterbending.'_

Aang had looked so desperate, so scared of the idea that the entire world rested on his shoulders and, as he sulked in his room, Koh had struck with even more whispers. _'You are 12. Still too young to be tasked with the responsibility of being the Avatar. Why should you leave everything you love behind? Why should you have to leave Gyatso?'_

The boy had nodded in agreement throughout his entire speech and Koh was almost ashamed that this was so easy. _'Then again, he is only 12.' _Koh thought to himself, dismissing it almost as quickly as it came. _'Even if you refuse to go, even if you fight tooth and nail, they will drag you there, they will force you to do as they want. If you have to leave... Do it on your own terms.'_

And Aang had flown away on his Bison, straight into a storm. But the boy was an Avatar, and self preservation was built into his very being, the Spirit would allow nothing less. 3 days later, the Western and Northern Temples still smoldering, the Southern Air Temple was marched upon.

It held out for 5 days, 5 long, hard days the Monks and Priests of the Southern Air Temple fought, but when the cavalry from the Eastern Temple had arrived, and the great comet, renamed in Sozin's honour, flew through the sky the game was up and the Air Nomads exterminated.

The Balance had shattered. The Avatar was on the sidelines and everything was coming together smoother than he could have possibly hoped.

All the way up to his death, Koh had whispered cruelly to Sozin. _'You destroyed the Temples, ravaged the Air Nomads absolutely, but you missed him.'_ Koh whispered it to the man every night, glee in his eyes as he spoke. _'The Avatar lives. Even now he prepares, trains to see you and your entire empire_ dead.' He watched as Sozin's paranoia grew. He watched as Sozin's paranoia drove him into a grave at only 68. And then he began whispering to Azulong.

_'You're father wrote the plans, he gave the guidelines. But he didn't build the Empire he should have. The Avatar lives and he will need teachers.'_ Azulong had needed no more prodding, soon all of the Water Benders of the Southern Water Tribes were in stocks, even a few from the North Pole, the seat of power of the Ocean and the Moon. _'Good work, it is a shame about the North, but it is protected by both the moon and the Ocean. You will have to be patient.'_ Azulong had agreed all too easily, he was a logical man after all and he knew all too well just how difficult the great Ice Walls of the North Pole would be to crush.

_'You have done all you could to curtail Water, for now.'_ He had whispered. _'Now, turn your attention to Earth, upend the great Capitol, Ba-Sing Sae!'_

That hadn't worked, not that Koh had ever expected to. Infact, Ba-Sing Sae was Firelord Azulong's last campaign, the man dying in his sleep the evening news of his son, Iroh's, retreat reached his ears.

And then Ozai rose to power, and so ingrained into him were the lesson's of Azulong and the history of Sozin that Koh didn't need to sit on the man's shoulder. He didn't need to whisper sweet nothings into this Fire Lord's ear. No, Ozai would ravage the world himself and for a few years Koh could just sit back and watch chaos flow.

Of course the time came for Aang to awake to the changed world, for the Avatar to come out of hiding and save the world from the big bag Fire Nation. Such an insurmountable task for one so young, but he would succeed. Koh was counting on it in fact.

He had not, however, expected to actually meet the boy face to face. That had been an encounter and then some. The little brat had been respectful and almost emotionless as he talked, but Koh could hear his heart, racing a million miles an hour.

Not to say he would steal this Avatar's face, he needed him after all, but he supposed he could play his role. It was expected after all and Koh was never one to deny expectation.

Exceed it maybe. Never deny it.

So as a slip in the Boy's emotions came Koh came careening at him, the perfect face chosen. And all Kuruk's love found was a stone staring back at her.

The boy left, Koh promising that they would meet again, a little boastful, maybe. But the young Airbender intrigued him.

And the months passed, the boy grew an understanding and mastery of all 4 elements. The Avatar State was mastered and soon it was days before Sozin's Comet was due to pass.

He watched as Aang and his friends and teachers prepared to face down the Fire Lord (The little blind Earthbender was actually somewhat entertaining with her portrayal of an ever terrifying melon lord.) and Aang showed the trait that Koh was counting on.

An unwillingness to end it in bloodshed.

_'And at the end of a bitter and bloody cycle, the air shall carry not the taste of blood but instead whispers of mercy and redemption.'_

In response to Aang's desperation it had appeared, the Old One, seeking to offer a non-lethal method to restoring the Balance. A method that would give Koh the penultimate piece of the puzzle.

So Koh had watched as Aang unleashed the Avatar State, watched as he bought him to the chopping block, watched as the Avatar stayed his hand and instead chose mercy.

From that moment, Koh had watched Aang continue on with his life, work towards uniting the world once more. He watched as he and Fire Lord Zuko crafted Republic City into a sight unmatched.

And, the day came, where he watched a man named Yakone stand trial for the crime of Blood Bending.

The final piece.

He watched as Yakone blood bent everyone in the courtroom. He watched as he taunted Aang and made his escape. And he watched as Aang chased after him and, for only the second time since he gained the knowledge, took away someone's ability to bend.

He had a split second gap, between the moment where Yakone lost his bending and before Aang broke the connection. He wasn't about to fail either. While he was sure he could survive to work the plan again, there really was far too much hassle involved.

So in that split second, Koh forced 400 years of death, destruction and sorrow ingrained deep within the Avatar Spirit, 400 years of continual rot of the Balance,all to bear at once, with the force of 1,000,000 Firebending Masters under the shadow of Sozin's Comet.

The air split, the Spirit fought and screamed as its old darkness escaped its confines. Vengeance and loss. Murder and Isolation. Betrayal and Failure.

As Koh predicted, it was too much for the Avatar Spirit, it withered, screamed and tore before, finally, it shattered.

Aang fell to his knees his breathing ragged, blood streaking from his mouth. The eyes that turned to him were stone. Much like the young child who had walked into his own domain with courage unmatched. "What did you do, Koh?"

"I do apologise Aang." Koh admitted, a tilt of his head as he slithered in close to the dying boy, whispering over his shoulder "I admit to have grown fond of you, in the way a human is fond of a pet dog, it's unfortunate then that you happen to be the Avatar."

"What did you do?" Aang repeated behind a cough, blood staining his hand.

Koh studied him shortly, Aang had let the mask slip, there was nothing but pure emotion on his face. Anger. "You know you're dying?" Aang didn't replying. "So you won't curtail your emotions, dead is dead, right?" More silent anger. Koh just sighed deciding to deign the boy with an answer. "I took my revenge Aang. You know that I have held a great hatred for the Avatar for a long time."

He backed away from Aang, frowning. "I took my revenge, there will be no more Avatar, for the Avatar Spirt is destroyed, obliterated under near half a century of suffering and torment. The suffering of an entire Avatar cycle led by the hand to tragedy."

"N...No. You can't." The Airbender swung his fist, chi moulding for a great gout of flame. No fire came and Aang fell to the dirt. "...Impossible."

"Again, I am sorry Aang." Koh muttered. "The loss of the Avatar Spirit will kill you, as ingrained as it was into you. Again nothing personal." Koh sighed as he turned away.

"Don't you... Don't you turn your back on me..." Aang's voice dropped and dropped, getting weaker. "Don't you... ignore..." Aang's breath faded out... all life leaving his body.

"A shame. He really was a good Child. For an Avatar." Koh commented, studying Aang's unmoving form. "I suppose his friends will be showing up soon, I wouldn't care to be caught in my gloating. But first..." Koh turned to the Gangster who had watched transfixed, unable to tear his eyes away, and the Great Spirit licked his lips. "Hmm, Yakone isn't it?" Fear, unbridled fear and terror. So sweet, so delicious "I fear I worked up a bit of an appetite these last 450 years and you, Yakone. You look good enough to eat."

Yakone's screams echoed throughout Republic City, at least they did for the last seconds that the man had a face.

-/-

Aang floated in something incomprehensible.

It was like the blackest water he had ever seen, yet at the same time the bluest sky. Or the richest green fields and the most cracked of scorched earth.

Time wasn't a problem, time had no meaning here. And yet he felt as if it had only been seconds.

'_...Aang.'_

Was that... someone calling for him?

'_The Ava... Spirit.'_

Something about a Spirit?

'_You have to...'_

Static, nothing but static.

'_Wake up!'_

-/-

Aang started awake, his body rising in one swift, practiced motion only to for him to tumble face first down again as his legs tangled. "Well that was uncomfortable."

"It looked it." A voice said to his right, Aang turned his head. Eyes widening what felt a mile.

"You're... You're an Air Nomad?" Holy hell that came out much squeakier than he expected.

"Wow Aang, how hard did you hit your head?" The strange Nomad chuckled. "You know the Union haven't been called Nomads in a hundred years. Not since the Enlightening."

Aang's eyes blinked... 100 years, a major event. No, there could be no way. "...Enlightening?"

"You know, The Enlightening. When the Air Nomads bought higher purpose to all 4 nations, and led them to peace." The Nomad chuckled again. "Really how hard did you hit your head?"

Aang swallowed hard. "Oh right." he choked out with a forced smile. "The Enlightening, I knew that."

-/-

**Writers Block sends me ideas for new stories before my old stories update.**

**Shit's sake.**

**Anyway, here's my first foray into Last Airbender and my fabulous tendency to just fuck with canonical events strikes once more.**

**Tell me what you think and I'll see about getting out some other updates and such.**

**Jordan Out.**


	2. BOOK ONE ENLIGHTENMENT: On a Wing

**Earth, Water, Fire and Air**  
_An Avatar the Last Airbender Fanfiction_  
_Written By The General Electric._

_Avatar Belongs to Nickelodeon. Good on 'Em._

* * *

_"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Air Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he turned on the world instead, leading the charge personally._

_Eventually he died, but the Avatar has never had the power of all 4 elements again, and without Air to balance the Avatar out, they cannot restore peace.  
As much as I hope, I don't think the Avatar will ever be capable of saving the world again."_

**_BOOK ONE  
ENLIGHTENMENT_**

**Chapter One  
On a Wing...**

* * *

Aang stood atop the highest pillar of the great Southern Air Temple, breathing in deep and breathing out shallow. Oh how he had missed this place, missed seeing it so alive.

He'd been back for a week now, he had come to terms that somehow, he was in some sort of alternate history. An alternate history that both terrified and saddened in equal measure.

It didn't really make a lick of sense, it should really be impossible for him to be here, to even exist.

But considering the Spirit World's penchant for being unpredictable and Koh's own personal involvement, maybe some sort of stupidly ridiculous consequence of the Shattering of the Avatar Spirit wasn't out of the question.

Even so, for the first time since he'd beaten Ozai; the first time in so many decades, he felt... empty.

With every breath he drew, the wind stirred around him, in a way that had he really been 12, would have been impossible.

He had managed to traverse the Temple with ease, his mastery of Air Bending making the climb to the top no more difficult than breathing.

No, his connection with the Air was as strong as ever... but no matter how hard he grasped, no matter how deep he meditated, he couldn't even feel the stirrings of the other 3 elements.

For a week, Aang had refused to accept Koh's boast as fact. Destroying the Avatar Spirit itself? Had the Face Stealer really found a way to end the cycle beyond killing an Avatar as they tapped into the strength of their past lives?

Or was the loss of the other 3 elements just a side effect of this world? It seemed that his counterpart had been born 100 years after Aang had back in his own world. Maybe this Aang wasn't the Avatar and at the end of the day, that was really all there was to it.

But would that not mean that his Air bending would be similarly limited to only what this Aang could handle? Or maybe his knowledge and Aang's connection to the Air, in this universe or his own, transcended that restriction. Or maybe it had really just been Koh, shattering the Spirit...

And now he was just chasing his own tail.

His musings were broken by a presence settling down behind him. "Master Masao." The High Priest of the Southern Air Temple, Masao, he had come to learn in the last week, was somewhat like a stricter Gyatso. While he took a harder tone than the man Aang had once considered a father, he still had that same enjoyment and belief in the Freedom that Air represented. Or at least as much as the Enlightenment allowed anyway...

The man had been observing him for 3 days now, careful to conceal his presence in an attempt not to alert the young Disciple that had made it all the way to the Temple's peak with unerring ease.

Of course, Aang had half a century of Air Bending mastery under his belt, a child like Masao couldn't hide from him.

But he had let the man keep his delusions of stealth, if only not to garner any suspicion. Climbing the Temple and advanced Meditation, feasible enough.

Detecting a Master Air Bender, a High Priest at that, there would be an inquisition.

"Disciple Aang, I must say finding you up here is a shock." He greeted with a wry smile, acting all the part of a Teacher just stumbling across a wayward student. "To find you here practicing advanced Bending and meditation practices is even moreso."

"Ah... sorry Master, I just needed some thinking room and... well." He gestured up at the sky, hundreds of thousands of stars shining out of the black. "There really is no where better than here."

Masao shook his head. "Indeed. I often find myself up here as well, to think. It does hold a..." He paused, thinking on the word. "Certain kind of beautiful isolation doesn't it?"

Aang just nodded, not trusting himself to speak much further, lest he slip and hint at his... pity for the man.  
"Of course;" Masao carried on in the silence. "One does not always have to seek seclusion to think. If ever you need an extra pair of ears, don't forget that there are those who can and _will _help."

"I will." Aang replied with a outward smile. _'I won't.'_He thought fiercely. As nice as the man seemed, he stood by and watched the world suffer with no real concern. Aang understood that mentality to an extent, seeing it within the Fire Nation in those final months before he beat Ozai and the years after as he and Zuko worked to repair the shattered nation.

It was understandable, and quite frankly Aang wished Masao and his Temple all the best, but really. He couldn't be party to it, he knew where that road led and it was not pretty. And as such there was no way he could discuss anything that was on his mind with the man.

Watching as Masao disappeared over the edge with a last reassuring smile, Aang returned to his thoughts. '..._Just a little longer. Just a little longer and I'll be ready._'

And yet the emptiness inside him continued to claw.

-/-

"You've been acting... weird lately. You sure you're okay Aang?"

"For the last time Mickii, I'm fine." Aang smiled; equal parts grateful and exasperated at the boys concern. Mickii had been the boy who Aang had talked to upon waking up as a 12 year old all over again. Really the boy wasn't bad company, not for a normal 12 year old kid.

But Aang had done that, he had grown up and had a family. Kya, Bumi and Tenzin... Katara.

Really at this point, there wasn't really a way that he could readjust to being 12 years old. However he did know how to act 12 and just what was expected of him. "Well if you're sure." Mickii shot back uneasily. "Anyway, did you hear about that group of bender's who attacked one of our colonies?"

Well, yes. Aang had heard of it, but only in vague detail. "Well kind of, all they mentioned was that only a single Fire and Water bender were really confirmed, the rest were just non-Benders weren't they?" Mickii's face took on an excited grin and Aang let out a wry smile at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Oh, oh, oh! But there's something else." He turned his head as if looking out for any eavesdroppers, kind of reminding him of the way Bumi, both his son and his old friend, had acted at that age. "At the time, the Water and Fire Benders were throwing up smoke as quickly as our Airbenders could disperse it, so no one noticed it during the battle. But..." He drew out the word and wagged his finger in a knowing gesture. "They think there was an Earthbender there as well."

Hmm, that was familiar. 3 elements represented in a single group, fighting against the tyrannical 4th element. "Well, that's not exactly mind shattering news there Mickii, Earth probably hates us just as much as Water and Fire from what I've read. Is it really all that surprising?"

"Bu... The Earth Kingdom is our ally!" They were? Ah Hell, Aang hadn't gotten that far through his history revision just yet. "The Earth King signed a non-aggression pact and everything! To think that there might have been an Earth Bender there, that's big."

"Well, yeah." Aang replied. "But to assume that an entire country of a couple million is just going to roll over and play nice, there are bad eggs in every batch Mickii."

He looked a little unsure but he regained his bluster in a heart beat. "But do you want to know the real kicker?"

"The real kicker?"

"Yeah. Yeah. They weren't just Benders Aang. They were _kids."_

Aang had a sudden flash back, himself sided by two girls, one in green and one in blue, with two boys, one in red one in blue, at his back, battling against a seemingly insurmountable military might. Heh, wouldn't that be something if even a whole world away those four had found each other.

Not that he really considered it a possibility. The odds were... beyond astronomical. But still it was a nice thought. "Kids huh? So what, our age?"

"That and younger apparently!" He declared with incredulity. "Can you believe that?"

Thinking back to his own journey and just how young all of them really were, Aang smiled. "You know, I really can."

-/-

The heat was truly unbearable.

How long had she been here now, 2 or 3 days maybe? It was hard to keep it straight after the first few hours.

Her tongue tracked across her flaked lips in a desperate attempt to try and get some moisture into them, although even her tongue had run dry sometime in the last few days.

Time had slipped away from her, but what she did know was that she was due a visit. A paltry serving of water and a question, it had been a cycle that they had been sticking to for the duration of her stay.

_"Where is the Avatar?"_

With a strangled sigh which warped itself into a rough cough almost immediately, her thoughts turned to her friends, and their whole stupid plan.

She grit her teeth and wilted under the heat, fingers flexing. Concentration. That was what she needed.

But a display, ruthless and efficient. She needed to make the Nomads scared, give them a show that they would never forget. With another cough, and a small trail of blood smearing her lips, she smirked. _'Tonight... it has to be tonight...'_

And the power coursing through her veins thrumed with anticipation.

-/-

_'The unknown Priest, the guardian of the highest truths and ideals held in place by the Air Nomads, was the first to raise the idea of spreading the teachings of the Nomads to the other 3 nations. It was a reasonable talking point, the only issue of course being that the Nations may of course, resist another cultures ideals and beliefs being forced upon them._

_So treaties were drafted and sent to the respective leaders of the 3 Nations, the 2 Water Chiefs, The Fire Lord and the Earth King. Of course they ignored them, responded with bravado and ignorance._

_We do not blame them, they were not aware of the truth of this world._

_So, in a show of strength, the 4 Temples sent their 4 High Priests alongside the Unknown Priest, and alone, the 5 of them walked right into the Earth Kings Palace and made him kneel...'_

Aang slammed the book shut with an audible clap. It wasn't new information by any stretch, although it was written slightly differently than the few texts he'd already gone through, but it didn't lessen the shame he felt, being part of this Air Nation that had somehow warped itself into this.

But then again, it wasn't anything new. And after a month of hanging around this place he just really wanted to leave, no matter how much it pained him to do it.

Stalking out of the library he made his way to his dorm, to double check he had the supplies he needed.

If only there was an Appa waiting here for him, it would be just like the good ol' days.

-/-

"Hello young Waterbender, my name is Masao." The High Priest greeted jovially, staring at the girl who was strung up in chains, the young upstart who would rise up a become a hero of her nation by toppling the _evil_ Air Union. "You know, the notion of being a hero is a rather attractive one, wouldn't you say young Waterbender?"

The girl looked at him as if he'd grown a second head, but there was a gleam of something... _'Unsettling.'_

"N... Not gonna ask me... where..." She coughed horsely.

"Am I not going to ask you where the Avatar is?" She nodded through narrowed eyes. "We'll get to that in due time, right now I just want to see if I can't break through all that youthful naivety and appeal to any reason you may have."

"Reason...?" The word was barely out before she was coughing again, blood splattering the iron floor of the cell.

"Yes, reason. But I feel as if our talk may well be a little pointless if you can barely reply, so." He picked up a bowl of water and put it on the floor of her cell. "Now don't get me wrong." He started in on her disbelief. "I'm well aware you could bend this straight through my neck with just a flick of the wrist and I'm well aware that you wouldn't bat an eye at my death." He closed his eyes with a smile. "But there are 5 Master Airbenders in here with me, and even if I die, you die with me." The girl furrowed her brow, flicking her wrist and bringing the water to her lips, drinking greedily. " Don't drink too quickly, you are dehydrated... if you drink to quickly you will throw up."

She finished gulping down the water before staring at him with amused eyes, with a lot more lucidity than she had possessed before drinking. "I'm a Water Bender Nomad." His eyes narrowed at the outdated appellation. "Water holds no death for me."

"As you say then, I claim to hold no knowledge on the ways and abilities of the Water Tribes." Masao conceded, eliciting a scoff from the girl. "Is there something wrong with what I just said?"

"You admit to not knowing the first thing about my culture and yet your _Enlightment_ is founded on the tenant that you know what is best for us?" She laughed. "When you start contradicting your own beliefs, Nomad, maybe it's time to find a new Religion."

Masao studied the girl, an unreadable expression on his face. "And what do you believe in, the Avatar perhaps?" Her eyes turned hard. "It is why you do what you do, no? Attacking anything even vaguely connected to the Union. Because you believe in the ideals that the Avatar is supposed to represent and you believe that in the absence of him you can inspire the world on your own?"

A silence spread out before them, the Waterbender staring daggers at Masao. "That's fine. I don't need you to tell me I'm right, your silence says more than words ever could."

"So, are you going to ask after the Avatar?" The girl intoned, all emotion gone from her voice.

"No." Masao spoke with certainty. "The Avatar is no issue, I don't even believe that you know him."

"So why am I here then?" The girl snarled.

"Why?" Masao chuckled with a wry smile. "Because you participated in criminal activity and you are receiving your punishment."

A long stretch of silence and wilful stares passed by, before the girl asked a question. "Tell me Nomad. What day is it today?"

Masao's eyes narrowed. Yes, being a Waterbender she would be able to tell... "Surely you can feel it, even locked in here?" She smirked. Of course she could. "And what good does the Full Moon do you girl. You have no more water to bend and are bound by chains of pure iron." Masao listed out, trying to disabuse her of any ideas of escape.

"On the contrary;" She laughed, fingers flexing, the beating of the Nomad's heart pounding in her ears. "I have all the water I need..."

Masao sighed. He did get so tired of wilful prisoners "You think you can escape? You think you have power in this place? Let me disabuse you of that notion Child." A torrent of wind ripped through the room, without so much as a twitch from the preist. "You are being held deep within the catacombs of the Southern Air Temple itself, hidden far, far away from any potential rescue. You have no weapons, no water on hand except what we give you." The High Priest rambled harshly and yet, she still had that insufferable smirk locked in place.

"Quite a show Nomad" She drawled. "I would clap... but, you know." She gestured towards the chains with her head.

"And still you do not treat your situation with any kind of self-awareness." Was the child truly that steadfast in her belief that the situation would only be temporary, was she so blinded by romantic notions of a hero riding in on a blaze of glory to save her from the evil tyrants, that the severity of the situation. "It seems I cannot get through that stubborn streak of yours. Maybe a few more days locked up will open your eyes to the truth, there is no rescue coming. No hero to rip you from those chains." His eyes flashed cold as another gust of wind tore through the room. "Accept your reality, for the fantasy just makes it all the harsher."

With a swirl of his robes, Masao made to leave, but halfway to the door, he stopped as she asked him a question. "How confident am I in my analysis?" He repeated eyes narrowed. What was she playing at? "Very."

The girl smirked. Still she wasn't cowed."Well let me disabuse you of that notion Nomad." The girl's fingers flexed and Masao felt control of his body slip from him.

His joints twisted and turned against him. His body lifted from the ground even as he tried to will himself to the ground, his eyes found the girls fingers... flexing. "What is this?"

Four cracks echoed through the chamber as the guards fell from their posts, necks broken. "You have the key, yes?" Against his will, Masao found himself floating towards the girl, hand going to his pocket and removing a small brass key. "Please Mr." She taunted. "Have pity on a poor, misguided Waterbender."

And the lock clicked open.

-/-

He was back on the topmost spire, only this time he had a glider in hand. "So... this is it then?" He asked the air, a gentle breeze wrapping around him, as if to say '_What were you expecting?'_  
"Yeah... that's what I thought." Wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye, Aang looked around once more. He had been expecting Masao to be up here, to try and talk to him or arrest him for treason, blasphemy or whatever this was classed. But, surprisingly enough, there was no one.

It kind of felt wrong, more than a little weird. He was so used to having confrontation in these kinds of situations, that, when it didn't happen, he felt a little lost.

But then again, weird was better than fighting off an entire legion of Master Airbenders and their Disciples.

Stopping his tempting of fate, Aang turned North eyes fixed firmly on the horizon with his Glider at the ready. "Well then, let's go save the world." He paused and smiled wryly. "Again." And he dove over the edge with a laugh, launching into the sky.

-/-

The pressure was insane. Masao could feel every bone in his body straining in protest at every movement the girl forced him into. He didn't know what she was doing it, how she was doing it, but apparently... "How is this even possible?"

"Science, Nomad." She smiled, jerking into the same metal cage she had occupied only minutes before. "You said we were beneath the Temple, yes? Some sort of catacombs?"

"Yes." He intoned, struggling against the pressure. "Unless you know where you are going, it is a literal maze, you cannot escape." The girl cocked her head.

"Maybe... Maybe not." She walked towards the door, the pressure pushing down on him doubling in intensity, his vision wavering as she strode towards the door. "Goodbye Nomad, hope you don't run into me again.

And Masao fainted.

-/-

**And again, updated before anything else. I should fire my Muse, or at least limit her access to the sugar. That might help.**

**And there's the edit, I might preserve the original text in some form or another for posterity's sake, but I kind of doubt it.**

**The most drastic change here would definitely be the extended interaction between Masao and the Waterbender (And before you ask, maybe it is who you think it is and maybe it isn't, don't jump to conclusions just yet) and the slightly more... out of nowhere break out of her's. Insofar that it kind of... null and voids reviewer G's positive feedback, but hopefully this still makes you smile G.**

**Feedback, it is my drug and I'm jonesing bad. Help a junkie out yeah?**

**Jordan out.**


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